Resilient side bearing assembly

ABSTRACT

Side bearings for a railway freight car having an elastomeric body disposed between the body bolster and the truck bolster. The assembly includes a rigid metal channel member which limits the displacement or distortion of the elastomeric material under compression and thereby limits the swinging movement of the car body relative to the truck bolster.

United States Patent [191 Reynolds March 6, 1973 [54] RESILIENT SIDEBEARING ASSEMBLY [75] Inventor: David J. Reynolds, Upper Arlington,

Ohio

[73] Assignee: Buckeye Steel Castings Company,

Columbus, Ohio [22] Filed: April 13, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 133,535

[52] US. Cl. ..105/199 CB, 267/3, 308/138 [51] Int. Cl. ..B6lf 5/14,B6lf 5/24, Fl6c 17/04 [58] Field of Search.....105/197 R, 199 CB; 267/3,4',

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,518,948 7/1970 King et al...308/138 X 3,556,503 1/1971 Van Moss, Jr ..267/3 2,777,401 1/1957Russell ..105/197 R 139,862 6/1873 Bridges ..267/3 2,301,372 11/1942Cottrell ..308/138 2,913,288 11/1959 Blattner ..308/138 PrimaryExaminer-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant Examiner-Howard BeltranAtt0rneyC1e11e W. Upchurch 5 7 ABSTRACT Side bearings for a railwayfreight car having an elastomeric body disposed between the body bolsterand the truck bolster. The assembly includes a rigid metal channelmember which limits the displacement or distortion of the elastomericmaterial under compression and thereby limits the swinging movement ofthe car body relative to the truck bolster.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 51973 INVENTOR DAV/0 J REYNOLDSATTORNEY RESILIENT SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY The present invention relatesto constant contact side bearing assemblies for railway cars whereinelastomeric material forms a part of each side bearing and whereinmetal-to-metal contact of the side bearings is eliminated.

An object of the invention is to provide side bearings of a railwayvehicle having an elastomeric body which is distorted to some extent bythe weight of the car body at all times and discourages rocking of thecar body relative to the truck bolster.

Another object of the invention is to provide side bearing assembliesfor railway cars wherein elastomeric material is at all times undercompressive forces with the result that the side bearings exert upwardforce on the car body and thereby relieve the center plate of some ofthe load imposed on the truck bolster by the car body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a side bearing assemblywhich allows the truck bolster to swivel and to turn about the axis ofthe king pin with the development of shear stresses in an elastomericbody of the bearing which tend to urge the truck to a center positiontransversely of the car body after negotiation of a curve in the track.

Other objects and features of the invention will be appreciated andbecome apparent as the present disclosure proceeds and uponconsideration of the accompanying drawing taken with the followingdetail description wherein an embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a conventional truck bolster and bodybolster for a railway car and with an embodiment of the side bearingassemblies provided by the invention mounted therebetween;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of one of the side bearing assemblies;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of one of the side bearing assembliesshowing the manner in which displacement or distortion of theelastomeric material occurs;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a side-bearing assembly illustrating ameans for attaching the bearing to the body bolster;

FIG. 5 is an end view of a side-bearing assembly illustrating anothermeans for attaching the bearing to the body bolster;

FIG. 6 illustrates still another means for attaching a side bearingassembly to the body bolster; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the manner in which theelastomeric material is displaced in shear during swiveling of the truckbolster relative to the body bolster. v

Referring now to FIG. 1, a truck bolster 10 is equipped with theconventional type of center bowl 11 for receiving the downwardlyprojecting portion 12 of the center plate carried by a body bolster 14.In accordance with the custom in the past side bearings are displacedfrom the axis of the center bowl by approximately inches or more tolimit the downward swinging of one side of the body bolster relative tothe truck bolster.

The present invention pertains to side bearing assemblies for mountingbetween the truck bolster 10 and the body bolster 14 so as to limit theswinging movement of the body bolster 14 relative to the truck bolster10. In the embodiment shown in the drawings an elongated body 16 ofelastomeric material is arranged transversely of the truck bolster 10.One or more threaded studs 17 may be suitably anchored in theelastomeric body 16 such as by rigidly securing them to a transverselyextending metal plate embedded in body 16 so as to project downwardlytherefrom and through openings in a channel member 18 of U-shaped crosssection. The studs 17 may, if desired, extend through openings in thetruck bolster 10 and nuts 19 may be applied to secure the assembly tothe truck bolster 10. The elastomeric material may be natural orsynthetic rubber, polyurethane or other suitable elastomer.

A plurality of threaded studs 21 suitably anchored in the elastomericbody 16 project above the upper surface thereof and may be connected ina suitable opening provided in a rigid type bearing member 23 carried bythe body bolster 10. The nuts 26 may be applied over the studs 21. Studs16 may be rigidly secured to the same metal plate as studs 17 or may berigidly secured to a second transversely extending metal plate spacedabove the first metal plate and embedded in body 16.

In mounting the side bearing assemblies in a railway car the height 'orthickness of elastomeric body 16 is selected to insure that it issubjected to a compressive force by the weight of the car and isdistorted slightly even when the transverse axis of the body bolster 14is substantially horizontal. It has been found that a total stroke upand down as the car sways should not be substantially greater than aboutone inch. Thus the height of body 16 is preferably reduced aboutone-half inch by distortion under the weight of the car while bodybolster 14 is substantially horizontal. This leaves some of the carweight supported on the center bowl even when the railway car body isnot loaded. Furthermore, as the car body rocks away from one of thebearings it will return to its natural shape and rise with the member23. Such an arrangement insures that upon the return rock of the carbody the bearing will remain in contact with body bolster 14 and air gapand violent impact will be avoided.

In the event that the downward force on the elastomeric body 16 exceedsthat which reduces its height by one-half inch, the elastomeric materialwill be distorted in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 3 until theelastomeric material fills the channel member 18. Further downwardmovement will then be limited 7 to that resulting from bulging of theelastomeric material over the edges of channel member 18 because theelastomeric material is non-compressible and additional distortion isprevented by channel member 18. Bulging above the edges of channelmember 18 only occurs under very high forces. There being no furtherroom for distortion of elastomeric body 16, it becomes almost solid andprevents metal-to-metal contact.

Relative motion between the top and bottom bearings of the side bearingassemblies allows the truck to swivel and turn about the axis of theking pin. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the elastomeric body 16 distorts inshear as the truck swivels. The energy stored in the distortedelastomeric body 16 as a result of the shear stresses tends to urge thetruck bolster 10 to return to a position substantially at right anglesto the axis of the car body.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, stud 21 may extend through a bore 22 and besecured to metal block 23 by nut 26 resting on the shoulder formed bycounterbore 20. Bearing member 24 is rigidly secured to the body bolster14. The truck can swivel by sliding of the car body on block 23'andthrough shear in the elastomeric material.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 is similar to that of FIG. 4 to the extent thatnut 26 secures block 23 to elastomeric body 16. However, block 23 isrigidly secured to member 24 to prevent relative movement therebetween.This prevents the truck from separating from the car body in the eventof derailment while providing for swivel through shear of elastomericbody 16 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

No nut is used on stud 21 in the embodiment of FIG. 5. Stud 21 is heldby bore 22 of block 23 which is rigidly secured to member 24 of bodybolster l4. Swivelling of the truck is permitted by shear of theelastomeric body 16.

The physical properties and volume of the elastomeric body are selectedin order that distortion under the load applied thereon will besufficient for the retaining means to limit the total stroke up and downto about one inch. Ideally, the cross-section of the distortedelastomeric body under maximum compression is substantially equal to theinternal cross-section of the retaining means although it can besomewhat greater than that. Preferably, the elastomeric body may extendlaterally in shear as much as its uncompressed height or depth butusually it will extend in shear an amount equal to not more than aboutone-half of its depth. The elastomeric body contemplated by theinvention is substantially non-porous and is compressible in the sensethat it distorts but is not reduced in volume under an applied load.

While the invention has been described with reference to particularstructural features and with reference to one type of side bearingassembly it will be appreciated that changes may be made in the elementsas well as the overall organizations. Such modifications and others maybe made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the inventionas set forth in the appendedclaims. For example, any type of center bowlmay be'substituted for the conventional one shown in the drawing.Likewise, retaining means 18 may have any convenient shape and, ifdesired, may be secured to body bolster 14 instead of truck bolster 10.

What is claimed is: v v 1. A railway vehicle comprising a carbodysupported on a body bolster having a center plate, a truck bolsterhaving a center bowl, a king pin pivotably connecting the two bolsterstogether with the center plate disposed in the center bowl, andlaterally spaced on each side from said center bowl a side bearingsecured to the truck bolster, said side bearing comprising a distortableelastomeric pad distorted under the compressive forces of the weightimposed by the body bolster on the truck bolster when the bolsters arehorizontal and the vehicle is empty, said pad being disposed within thecavity of a rigid open ended channel member which is U-shaped incross-section, is secured to the truck bolster and has its upstandingwalls spaced from the elastomeric pad when the bolsters are horizontaland engages said pad and limits its distortion as the body bolsterswivels from horizontal, and further distorts said pad the height ofsaid pad being greater than that 0 said upstanding walls and thedistortion of the pad when the bolsters are horizontal being sufficientwhereby said side bearing exerts an upward force on the body bolster asit sways upwardly from the truck bolster with rocking of the car fromside to side. v

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the cross-section of the pad undermaximum compression is substantially equal to the internal cross-sectionof the channel member. 7 g

3. The side bearing of claim 1 wherein the channel member is arrangedtransversely on the truck bolster and provides space at its ends whichallows said body to distort in shear with swivelling movement of thetruck.

4. The side bearing of claim 3 wherein atleast one stud has one endanchored in the elastomeric body and is rigidly secured at the other endto the truck bolster.

5. The side bearing of claim 4 wherein at least one stud has one endanchored in the elastomeric body and is rigidly secured at the other endto a metal block lying adjacent the underside of the bodybolster.

6. The side bearing of claim 5 wherein the said metal block is rigidlysecured to the body bolster.

7. The side bearing of claim 5 wherein the said metal block is inslidable contact with a bearing surface of the body bolster. 8. The sidebearing of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric body projects above the wallsof the channel member after further distortion is prevented by the wallsand the projecting portion distorts across the upper edges of the wallsas additional load is applied on the body.

9. The side bearing of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric body iscompressed about one-half inch bythe weight thereon when the transverseaxis of the body I bolster is substantially horizontal and the totalstroke as the car body sways is about one inch.

10. The side bearing of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric body is asubstantially non-porous rubber.

I! k i

1. A railway vehicle comprising a car body supported on a body bolsterhaving a center plate, a truck bolster having a center bowl, a king pinpivotably connecting the two bolsters together with the center platedisposed in the center bowl, and laterally spaced on each side from saidcenter bowl a side bearing secured to the truck bolster, said sidebearing comprising a distortable elastomeric pad distorted under thecompressive forces of the weight imposed by the body bolster on thetruck bolster when the bolsters are horizontal and the vehicle is empty,said pad being disposed within the cavity of a rigid open ended channelmember which is U-shaped in cross-section, is secured to the truckbolster and has its upstanding walls spaced from the elastomeric padwhen the bolsters are horizontal and engages said pad and limits itsdistortion as the body bolster swivels from horizontal and furtherdistorts said pad, the height of said pad being greater than that ofsaid upstanding walls and the distortion of the pad when the bolstersare horizontal being sufficient whereby said side bearing exerts anupward force on the body bolster as it sways upwardly from the truckbolster with rocking of the car from side to side.
 2. The vehicle ofclaim 1 wherein the cross-section of the pad under maximum compressionis substantially equal to the internal cross-section of the channelmember.
 3. The side bearing of claim 1 wherein the channel member isarranged transversely on the truck bolster and provides space at itsends which allows said body to distort in shear with swivelling movementof the truck.
 4. The side bearing of claim 3 wherein at least one studhas one end anchored in the elastomeric body and is rigidly secured atthe other end to the truck bolster.
 5. The side bearing of claim 4wherein at least one stud has one end anchored in the elastomeric bodyand is rigidly secured at the other end to a metal block lying adjacentthe underside of the body bolster.
 6. The side bearing of claim 5wherein the said metal block is rigidly secured to the body bolsteR. 7.The side bearing of claim 5 wherein the said metal block is in slidablecontact with a bearing surface of the body bolster.
 8. The side bearingof claim 1 wherein the elastomeric body projects above the walls of thechannel member after further distortion is prevented by the walls andthe projecting portion distorts across the upper edges of the walls asadditional load is applied on the body.
 9. The side bearing of claim 1wherein the elastomeric body is compressed about one-half inch by theweight thereon when the transverse axis of the body bolster issubstantially horizontal and the total stroke as the car body sways isabout one inch.